Inner city living in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth has become more popular. Between 1986 and 1996, all of these inner city areas had growing populations, with much of the increase being housed in high-rise apartments.

Characterised by an agglomeration of offices, shops, hotels, theatres and restaurants in a mix of modern high-rise and historic buildings, inner city areas have a large daily flow of commuters from suburban areas and also provide places of residence for many people. Many of the people who reside in inner city areas, often for very short periods (i.e. tourists and people on business), do so in a variety of non-private dwellings such as hotels, motels, boarding houses and hostels. For instance in 1996, 41% of all people counted in inner Sydney on census night, and 61% of those in inner Melbourne, were residing in non-private dwellings. However, supported by urban planning policies,1,2,3 inner city areas are also becoming home to a growing number of residents living in private dwellings, especially in high-rise apartments.

Focussing on occupied private dwellings, this review uses information from the 1986 and 1996 Censuses of Population and Housing to describe housing trends in the inner city areas of Australia's five largest cities. It also describes some of the characteristics of the people living in private dwellings in these areas.

Inner city areas and places of residence

Inner city areas have been defined to include census collection districts within a 1.5 km radius of the General Post Office located within each city's Central Business District (CBD). These areas include the full CBD as well as the inner areas of any surrounding suburbs.

Metropolitan areasinclude Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth as defined by their statistical division boundaries.Private dwellings are defined as premises, typically a house or apartment, usually occupied by households (a person living alone or a group of related or unrelated people who usually reside and eat together). Occupied private dwellings are those that were occupied on census night by at least one usual resident.

(a) Excludes visitors. (b) Figures showing change for Inner Perth have been omitted. Unlike the other cities, in Perth the 1986 Census coincided with school holidays and does not allow reasonable comparisons to be made with respect to changes in numbers of people for small geographic areas.

Source: Unpublished data, 1986 and 1996 Censuses of Population and Housing.

Change in inner city areas The extent of residential development can be viewed in terms of the growth in the number of occupied private dwellings in an area and the number of people living in the area. It is evident from census data that more people now live in inner city areas and that recently the rate of residential development has usually been higher in inner city areas than for metropolitan areas as a whole.

Inner Sydney (already with the largest number of inner city residents in 1986 - 12,100 people) recorded the highest growth in residents, adding about 6,700 people over the decade. However, the proportionate increase was largest in inner Melbourne, where the number of people in occupied private dwellings more than tripled (increasing from about 1,200 to about 3,800 people). The number of people in the inner city areas of both Brisbane and Adelaide increased at a more moderate rate; 28% in Brisbane (which was on par with the high rate of growth for the city as a whole), and 26% in Adelaide (which was more than three times the growth rate of the entire city).

For each city, the same trends are evident when examining the overall growth in numbers of private dwellings. The change in dwellings counted in Perth over the decade suggests that the rate of residential development in inner Perth has been slower than in other cities (12% compared to the next lowest, 26% in Brisbane).

Separate houses and adjoined dwellings

Separate housesare those that stand on their own grounds separated from other dwellings by at least half a metre.

Adjoined dwellingsare all dwellings other than separate houses and have been classified in this review as being in either high-rise blocks or an "other adjoined dwelling type". Other adjoined dwelling typesinclude, row and terrace houses, units/flats and other adjoined dwellings, as long as the dwelling is in a building less than four storeys high. Dwellings in high-rise blocks, conversely, are those in residential buildings four or more storeys high.

OCCUPIED PRIVATE DWELLINGS IN INNER CITY AREAS, 1996 AND CHANGES SINCE 1986

1996

Change since 1986

Adjoined dwellings

Adjoined dwellings in high-rise blocks

Total dwellings(b)

Separate house

High-rise blocks

Other

Total dwellings

Inner city areas

%(a)

%(a)

%(a)

no.(b)

no.

% increase

no.

% increase

Sydney

0.3

64.2

34.7

11,028

3,042

79.9

3,724

51.0

Melbourne

1.1

45.1

49.7

2,034

754

566.9

1,464

256.8

Brisbane

17.5

42.9

39.0

3,726

867

127.1

779(c)

26.4

Adelaide

12.1

9.5

74.9

2,587

147

156.4

633

32.4

Perth

21.2

26.8

49.8

1,960

113

27.9

205

11.7

(a) As a per cent of total dwellings, but excluding private dwellings with unknown structures and dwelling types such as dwellings attached to shops. (b) Includes private dwellings with unknown structures and dwelling types such as dwellings attached to shops. (c) Increase is smaller than the increase in adjoined dwellings in high-rise blocks because the number of separate houses declined.

Source: Unpublished data, 1986 and 1996 Censuses of Population and Housing.

Dwelling types While the mix of dwelling types in inner city areas (such as separate houses, row and terrace houses, flats and high-rise apartments) varies between each city, a common feature of inner city housing is the low proportion of separate houses. On average, 7% of all occupied private dwellings in the five inner city areas were separate houses, compared to 74% for the metropolitan areas as a whole. As well as the historical development of medium density housing (e.g. terrace houses close to the CBD in Sydney and Melbourne), the on-going competition for land in inner city areas has favoured the development of adjoined dwellings and, increasingly, dwellings in high-rise blocks.

In 1996, the inner city areas of both Sydney and Melbourne had very few separate houses (both less than 40, representing 0.3% and 1.1% of all occupied private dwellings respectively). In all cities, the number of occupied separate houses declined between 1986 and 1996. Most of the losses were in Brisbane (101), Perth (49), and Adelaide (39).

Nearly two thirds of all dwellings in inner Sydney (64%) were in high-rise blocks (i.e. dwellings in blocks four or more storeys high), while in inner Melbourne, the proportion of dwellings in high-rise blocks and the other types of adjoined dwellings were similar (45% and 50% respectively). Inner Adelaide, in contrast, had relatively few occupied dwellings within high-rise blocks (10%).

In all cities, the most rapid development (measured in terms of percentage change) occurred in the construction of units/apartments within high-rise blocks. Over the ten-year period 1986 to 1996, almost all of the residential development in Brisbane's inner city, and most of the development in Sydney's inner area was in units in high-rise blocks. In Adelaide, much of the growth occurred in units in the other types of adjoined dwellings (526 units compared to 147 in high-rise blocks).

PROPORTION OF DWELLINGS RENTED, AND MEDIAN WEEKLY RENT PAYMENTS OF THOSE RENTING, 1996

Inner city area

Metropolitan area

Proportion rented

Median rent

Proportion rented

Median rent

Location

%

$ per week

%

$ per week

Sydney

71.0

210

31.3

162

Melbourne

65.4

222

24.7

137

Brisbane

62.4

152

30.4

135

Adelaide

65.2

120

28.2

102

Perth

69.2

102

26.5

126

Total

68.1

172

28.3

140

Source: Unpublished data, 1996 Census of Population and Housing.

Housing tenure and costsAgainst the norm of high levels of home ownership (with or without a mortgage) of people in Australia, people living in inner city areas were much more likely to be renting. The low home ownership in inner city areas may be associated with: the type of people attracted to inner city areas (i.e. highly mobile, young adults); the most common type of dwelling available in inner city areas (smaller adjoined dwelling types that are generally not suited to families with dependants); and the higher housing costs which is partly indicated by higher rental payments in inner city areas compared to metropolitan areas.

SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS OF RESIDENTS OF PRIVATE DWELLINGS, 1996

Males per 100 females

Persons aged 0-9

Persons aged 20-29

Persons aged 65+

Lone-person households

Group households

Family households

Couple-only families

Families with dependent children

Location

number

%(a)

%(a)

%(a)

%(b)

%(b)

%(b)

%(c)

%(c)

Inner city areas

Sydney

122

5.0

32.8

8.4

50.3

14.9

34.8

57.3

24.8

Melbourne

115

4.2

38.2

6.5

40.7

19.3

39.9

51.5

23.2

Brisbane

106

4.1

30.0

12.0

46.5

16.4

37.0

54.2

25.5

Adelaide

119

4.1

30.3

11.8

52.3

14.2

33.5

54.3

25.6

Perth

128

5.6

31.6

9.9

52.3

15.1

32.6

50.3

33.0

Total inner city areas

119

4.7

32.5

9.4

49.2

15.5

35.3

55.2

25.6

Total metropolitan areas

96

14.1

15.9

10.9

22.9

4.6

72.4

31.6

50.4

(a) Of all persons.(b) Of all households.(c) Of all families.

Source: Unpublished data, 1996 Census of Population and Housing.

Characteristics of residentsPeople living in inner city areas do so for many reasons, such as being close to work and places of entertainment, living near friends or relatives, or simply having a preference for the ambience of inner city living. However, it is likely that the high costs associated with inner city housing, and the preferences for families with children to live in suburbs, would lead to differences between the socio-economic characteristics of inner city residents and residents of metropolitan areas generally. Various indicators reinforce the popular stereotype that many inner city residents are relatively young, financially advantaged adults.

In 1996, all inner city areas had a greater proportion of males than females, while the reverse was true for the total population of the five metropolitan areas. Inner city areas also had larger proportions of people living with unrelated adults (i.e. in group households) and people living alone, and lower proportions of family households. In 1996, lone-person households made up 49% and group households made up 16% of inner city households (compared to 23% and 5% respectively in metropolitan areas). Family households made up 35% of all households in inner city areas, compared to 72% in metropolitan areas. Furthermore, among family households, couple-only families made up the largest proportion in inner city areas (55%), whereas in metropolitan areas, families with dependent children made up the largest proportion (50%).

Residents in inner city areas and metropolitan areas also had different age profiles. For example, in metropolitan areas the proportion of children aged under 10 was three times greater than that in inner city areas (14% compared to 5%). In contrast, inner city areas had a substantially higher proportion of residents aged 20-29 years (ranging between 30% and 38%) than in metropolitan areas (an average of 16%).

EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME OF PEOPLE (a) LIVING IN PRIVATE DWELLINGS, 1996

Unemployment rate

Persons employed in more highly skilled occupations(b)

Persons with gross income > $799 per week

Persons with gross income < $300 per week

Location

%

%(c)

%(c)

%(c)

Inner city areas

Sydney

8.4

53.4

29.6

12.7

Melbourne

8.8

64.2

36.4

18.5

Brisbane

9.3

57.6

26.9

16.0

Adelaide

10.8

58.2

25.1

18.1

Perth

14.5

48.7

20.5

26.8

Total inner city areas

9.4

55.4

28.5

15.7

Total metropolitan areas

8.3

39.0

19.5

20.8

(a) Aged 15 years and over.(b) Managers and administrators, professionals and associate professionals (ASCO, Second Edition).(c) Of all employed persons.

Source: Unpublished data, 1996 Census of Population and Housing.

Employment and incomeIn 1996, inner city areas tended to have a higher unemployment rate than metropolitan areas taken as a whole (with particularly high rates in the inner city areas of Adelaide and Perth - 11% and 15% respectively). However, in all cities, among inner city residents who were employed, relatively high proportions were employed as managers, administrators, professionals or associate professionals. The proportions in these more highly skilled occupations ranged from 64% in inner Melbourne to 49% in Perth; all higher than the average of the five metropolitan areas (39%).

Associated with differences in concentration of people employed in more highly skilled occupations, inner Melbourne had the highest proportion of employed people who had a gross weekly income of $800 or more (36%) while inner Perth had the lowest (21%). Inner Perth also had the highest proportion of employed people with a weekly income of less than $300 (27%). However, among inner city residents who were employed, a greater proportion were on high incomes compared to the average of employed people living in metropolitan areas.

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